Realpolitik is a board game for 3-4 players. It is a standalone expansion for Coalitions, with its own distinct game board and four playable nations (Prussia, France, Austria, and Italy) included in the box. You do not need the base game of Coalitions to play Realpolitik. It comes with all the components, rules, and scenarios necessary to play.

Players engage in an exciting area control game of shifting alliances and coalitions, of intense back-stabbing, diplomacy, and bold military actions set in an era defined by the Austro-Prussian (1866) and Franco-Prussian (1871) wars which completed the Unification of Germany under Bismarck’s leadership. Though Realpolitik shares many of the same core mechanics as Coalitions, the Wheel of War is replaced with a card-based activation system, introducing more uncertainty into the game. It also comes with Trains, allowing for players to move armies more quickly across the map.